Critic Reviews

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100

Snackbar-Games.com

All in all Tony Hawk 4 is a great game. I am not sure that I would agree with some other gaming sites and be so quick to give it Game of The Year recognition, but it is in fact worth playing. If you have played Tony Hawk in the past and you are burned out on the concept, then at least give this game a try and rent it for the weekend. I don't regret the purchase of this game and I don't think you will either. I may not be into many sports games, but aggressive sports like skating and snowboarding are definitely games I get hyped up to play.

Even with a new engine powering the game and larger, more detailed levels, these screens may not look dramatically different from THPS3. However, the changes should become obvious when you play it yourself in November.

Somehow Neversoft has done it yet again, by giving the extreme sports gamer another high-quality title worth every cent. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 has it all: huge and creatively designed levels, a great new trick system, improved graphics, another great soundtrack, and push-it-to-the-limit goals that even veteran THPS gamers will need time to master. No doubt about it, if you like good games you can’t go wrong with THPS4. It’s simply one of the best and most enjoyable gaming experiences around in any genre.

Online capabilities in Tony Hawk 4 would have been the icing on the cake in a near-perfect game. But to enjoy a full 8-player mayhem, you will have to have two games, two Xbox's, and eight controllers. Link them together, invite your 7 closest friends to your house, and have a serious skate session. Luckily, the game is so good that you're bound to know someone else who is already enjoying every drop of skateboarding mojo flowing from its veins, so finding a friend shouldn't be all that hard.

Do I really need to tell you? If you haven't got your shoes on already and you're not bolting out of the door to pick this up, then I pity you. You're missing out on gaming at its peak. BUY, BUY, BUY!!

Actvision O2 can do no wrong. At first
I was worried this would just be a re-hash of THPS3, but the innovative new
twist to the gameplay makes it fresh again. This game is just a hell
of a lot of fun. If the older installments kept you trying to get better at
the competitions and tricks, I highly recommend this game!

It seems very strange to me that this game didn't have official Xbox Live support. It's a natural fit that really could have bolstered Xbox Live. Rather than dwell on that point, let's focus on the positive: this is still one of the best Xbox games of the year.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 does it again and brings extreme skateboarding to even more satisfying heights with its various challenges and added extras. This is the most fun you’ll have on a board without actually being on one. Go ahead and buy it, you can thank me later.

While fans of the previous games will find the redesigned career mode a little foreign at first, it definitely makes for a longer game with a lot less repetition than you saw in previous installments, which asked you to play the game over and over again with each skater to unlock their secrets. The deeper single-player and improved multiplayer modes makes Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 the most tightly-packed installment in the series to date, and the slightly refined gameplay is still unmatched in the action sports arena.

Lucky for me, I'm one of those people, and this game is as addictive and fun as ever. It offers a nice assortment of new stuff for the fans and will definitely test your skills. Though it's missing the online component found in the PS2 version, the improved looks and sound keep THPS 4 for the Xbox competitive.

While it’s sad that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 for Xbox doesn’t natively support Internet play, there’s still plenty to celebrate. Near-perfect single-player action will haul in fans of the series and newcomers alike, as the expanded move list and levels make for much more satisfying gameplay. The Two-Player and System Link modes are quite fun and introduce a new mix of matches for your competitive enjoyment. All in all, Pro Skater 4 isn’t a massive leap forward for the series, but a massive and refined expansion upon its original premise. Shaking free of the N64 and PSOne’s limited memory, this first next-gen exclusive Pro Skater is exactly what it should be: both bigger and better.

90

MS Xbox World

You’ll be hard pressed trying to 100% complete the career mode. You’ll sure as hell be rewarded by doing so with all the cash you earn by buying the countless tricks, clothing, movies, and other hidden objects in the skater shop. The Create-a-Skater and Park Editor are better then ever by finally getting the depth they’ve needed. The multi player has plenty of ways to play from, but with only two players split screen instead of having up to four (like the previous two X-Box games had). Also, no Live support is simply ludicrous on Neversoft’s part.

Welcome to the world of Neversoft’s Tony Hawk 4. Ok, I know you’ve all said it, “Extreme sports games are played out.” Well, Tony Hawk 4 will change your opinion entirely. The 4th installment has rid itself of the off the wall physics and outlandish trick scores that plagued Tony Hawk 3. No longer can I score a 700,000 point combo in the first 20 seconds of gameplay. Though that doesn’t help for bragging rights, it does add difficulty and realism to this installment. This, among many other improvements, bridges the gap to the latest Tony Hawk game and makes the game worth owning.

What can I say? The game still captures me and won't let go, for one more year Tony is the king of extreme sports. Adding just enough to keep it fresh as well as leaving the good points alone for the veterans. I hope that next year Neversoft takes advantage of the superior consoles and beefs them up before release. Other than that nothing to complain about another outstanding year for team Neversoft!

It seems as if the man himself has been in on each stage of production and the general feel of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 is significantly more satisfying than I've seen before. This is about as good as it gets, so go grab some 'big air' and ollie down to your local vendor for a copy.

Tony Hawk 4 is addicting as hell. Seriously, I could hardly put the controller to rest so that I could write this review. If you’ve played the series at all, you know what to expect. You’ll progress through 10 levels, unlock a few secrets, and complete various challenges.

Hawk 4 is the best the series has to offer, but if you picked up Hawk 3 anytime in the last six months, then I wouldn't be in any hurry to rush out and pay full price for this game at this time. For all but the most ardent Tony Hawk fans, it makes more sense to wait awhile and see what other upcoming games may tickle your fancy because there are plenty of other holiday titles vying for your dollar that would do more for your library.

This game will be played over and over by you and your friends. The game is difficult to beat entirely and will keep you coming back for more. But once Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is released, nobody will be playing the lonely Tony 4. Enjoy this game before it becomes out of date with the newer version.

After playing (and loving) Tony Hawk 3, it was clear that Neversoft would have to pull something out of their ass if they were going to sell me on Pro Skater 4. But to my utter amazement, they’ve done the unthinkable yet again. The restructured career mode and new challenges are exactly what the game needed, helping bring the series in directions I never even thought possible, but, at the same time, I’m not afraid to say that I’ve grown at least a little sick of Tony Hawk over the past few months. Maybe it’s because I’ve played each and every game in the series to the point that I see trick lines in my sleep, or perhaps it’s because this is Neversoft’s third Tony Hawk Xbox release in less than a year (and I own them all, I might add). Whatever it is, it may very well take an act of God to get me to buy into Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. But with Neversoft behind the wheel, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Personally I think this game is definitely worth a purchase, although my opinion is probably positively affected by the fact that I haven’t played either one of the first 3 Tony Hawk games. Gamers who aren’t a hardcore fan will get this ‘I have seen this before, only with uglier graphics’ feeling after a while. Those who don’t have problems with a bit of déja-vu will have a very good time playing this fourth episode of the Tony Hawk series. The 190 very varied goals produce hours of fun … but beware: the first weekend of gaming can cause blisters...

What else can I say about Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4? It's easily the best version yet, and is as solid and polished as I would expect. I'm not really sure how much new ground they can cover in the next installment, as I really feel the series has plateaued. Maybe the next next-gen iteration will have more photorealistic visuals and perfect online play, but for now, THPS4 is probably about the best an extreme sports game can get.

Is there anything left to say? Definitely. We're guessing that newcomers are now wondering whether this is the game to rob them of their skating virginity, and those of you with as much vested interest as we have will be wondering whether this is going to do anything new for them. To the newcomers, we'd say no, don't go for THPS4, go for THPS3, which is happily available on budget for less than 20 pounds. Easier, tighter, brighter. Go now. The rest of you? It all comes down to one thing - are you bored of THPS3? Do you moan about it to your friends? Would you say you're now bitter, cynical and jaded when it comes to skating games? If you are, then THPS4 is unlikely to reawaken your passion for the series, but if you honestly do fancy more of the same in brand new arenas with a lot more actual content than previous editions, this is definitely worth your money.

The game is more akin to Jet Grind Radio now; like a platformer on wheels, but there is nothing wrong with this. With multiplayer which almost mirrors previous instalments, Tony Hawk 4 isn’t as essential as the publishers would like to think. It does contain new gameplay, but the series is perfectly good as it is. Undoubtedly Tony Hawk’s 4 is a great game, but the only direction now for the series to go is in expansion. Extra modes, extra levels and extra characters, but no more gameplay innovation. The series has reached its pinnacle, which is why Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 isn’t a necessary purchase. It’s the perfect game, but one which we’ve all seen before.

If you are a THPS addict, pick this one up. Casual fans might want to wait for THPS5 (or 6 or 7, since you know they are coming), especially because this game has no online play. Come on, Activision, this series just begs for Live support!

If you don’t own many or any Tony Hawks games then this may be something fresh for you, but for a lot of people it is more of the same. You wouldn’t eat four bowls of toffee ice cream would you? You may have one toffee, then a chocolate. If they are to make another game, which they most likely will, it would have to be more revolutionary than this effort.